Division Article 2(1)(b)

Germany will ensure that the Land of Berlin introduces an open, transparent and non‐discriminatory tendering procedure as soon as the annual accounts of Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG for 2005 have been approved and completes the procedure by 31 December 2007.

The buyer must:

• be independent of the Land and must not be connected to BGB AG or Berliner Bank within the meaning of Article 11 of Commission Block Exemption Regulation No 2790/1999^f1 regarding vertical agreements,

• be in a reasonable position to satisfy all the necessary conditions imposed by the relevant competition and other authorities for the acquisition of the holding in BGB AG, and

• be capable on the basis of its financial strength, and in particular its rating, to guarantee the bank's solvency in the long run.

In applying the review clause contained in Article 2(2) to the undertaking to sell, the Commission will take due account of the supply‐side conditions and the situation on capital markets.